Alzheimer

Evidence Links Protein Damage to Neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's

Neurodegenerative diseases - including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Diffuse Lewy body disease, and Multiple System Arophy - are collectively called synucleinopathies. Most commonly they become symptomatic due to a deficiency of a specific neurotransmitter - in the case of Parkinson's it is dopamine. When the neurons that produce these chemicals die or become impaired, which occurs with oxidation, th...

Miracle cure for Alzheimer’s around the corner

Alzheimer’s Disease, one of the most common and perhaps the most dreadful kind of Dementia, where there is degeneration of the brain tissue, might at last have the much awaited miracle cure round the corner. A vaccine made headlines sometime ago, as being efficient in reducing plaque formation in mice, which is characteristic of Alzheimer’s. Latest reports say that it also improves mental...

Vaccine for Alzheimer’s diseas

Researchers developing a vaccine against Alzheimer’s disease have shown that it seems to stop mice with the condition losing their memory. The results boost hopes that such vaccines could delay or prevent similar symptoms in people. The vaccines reduces the build-up of protein deposits in mouse brains -the other major indicator of Alzheimer’s diseases. The pharmaceutical company Elan,...

Alzheimer cure

Restoring a signalling molecule to the brain reverses Alzheimer-like damage in mice. In both Alzheimer's disease and Down's syndrome, a group of brain cells called the basal forebrain cholinergic neurons shrivels and dies. The brain chemical, acetylcholine, which these neurons produce, is lost and, since it is involved in learning and memory, results in cognitive decline. In London an...

Decrease in testosterone levels lead to Alzheimer's

Suppression of testosterone levels in men with testicular cancer may inadvertently increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, warn US researchers.A research team from North Carolina University has found that when circulating testosterone levels go down, a high rise in levels of amyloid – the protein implicated in Alzheimer’s disease – occurs. They suggest that this phenomenon might explain why...

Smoker's are prone to Alzheimer's

Smokers are more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's Disease as people who have never smoked, according to new research. The study - the largest ever of its kind and the first major research to look at people before they develop Alzheimer's - followed 5,369 men and women aged 57 and over. None of the people had Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia, before the study...

Over-The-Counter Drugs May Prevent Alzheimer's

Certain over-the-counter pain relievers commonly used to counter the pain and inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis also may cut the risk of getting Alzheimer's disease. In addition to their anti-inflammatory properties, the drugs seem to selectively reduce levels of a harmful protein linked to the neurodegenerative disease. The study developed from research suggesting that people taking certain N...

Alzheimer's followed by head injury

Research carried out in England has buttressed the suggestion that head injuries may be linked to the onset of Alzheimer's disease.Doctors at the National Institute on Aging in the UK have analysed the cases of soldiers who suffered head injuries// during World War II. They found that those who suffered moderate head injuries were twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's while those who...

Vitamin E useful for Alzheimer's

Vitamin E taken daily could protect the brain and prevent the onset of diseases such as Alzheimer's, a study suggests. Scientists in Japan discovered it is possible to reverse a degenerative// brain disease simply by taking vitamin E. They say the supplement is a powerful antidote to the oxidative stress linked to brain disorders such as Alzheimer's. Taking vitamin supplements could h...

Staying mentally energitic prevents Alzheimer's

A new study shows there is some truth in the 'use it or lose it' advice when it comes keeping the brain active. It is long been believed that mental stimulation can protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease.// Researchers at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Centre in the US now reveal new evidence for this. The report is part of the ongoing Religious Orders Study, involving the cognitive health of o...

High Cholesterol linked to Alzheimer’s diseas

Alzheimer's is a degenerative brain disease that usually begins gradually, causing a person to forget recent events or familiar tasks. How rapidly it advances varies from person to// person, but the disease eventually leads to confusion, personality and behavior changes and impaired judgment. Communication becomes more difficult as the disease progresses. Having high cholesterol appea...

Researchers trick Alzheimer's Enzyme

According to researchers in Scripps Research Institute, chemists have tricked an enzyme essential in Alzheimer's disease into blocking its own debilitating action.// A team led by Nobel laureate K. Barry Sharpless developed the chemical trick, called "click chemistry," to make a molecule that blocks neurotransmitter destruction caused by the brain enzyme acetylcholinesterase. The destr...

Drug Offers Hope for Alzheimer's disease

An experimental treatment for Alzheimer's may allow treatment at a later stage than other medications. The drug, known as Memantine, has been on the market for a decade in Germany// and was recently recommended for approval by the European Union's equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration. Memantine works through a different mechanism than other, currently approved Alzheimer's d...

Chemical in Gila monster's saliva yields Alzheimer drug

Alzheimer's is a degenerative brain disease that usually begins gradually, causing a person to forget recent events or familiar tasks. The disease eventually leads// to confusion, personality and behavior changes and impaired judgment. Communication becomes more difficult as the disease progresses, leaving those affected struggling to find words, finish thoughts or follow directions. Eventually,...

Alzheimer's with psychosis runs in families

According to a study, siblings of people with Alzheimer's and psychosis are prone to suffer this form of dementia.// More than half of patients with Alzheimer's disease suffer from psychotic symptoms like hallucinations and delusions. This is an especially serious form of the condition, linked with more aggressive behaviour, more swift decline and earlier need for institutional care....

Blood test may aid foretell Alzheimer's

According to study in University of Texas, a novel blood test can detect plaque buildup in mice brains, suggesting a possible new way to predict who might get Alzheimer's disease.Researchers at the School of Medicine in St. Louis said it is unclear whether a similar blood test would work in people, but the findings in the animal studies appeared promising.// Plaque buildup ruins brain...

Further support for use of statins in Alzheimer’s disease

People who take the cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins may reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by nearly 80%. Statins have been proved to offer// powerful protection against heart disease for people with high blood cholesterol. The findings provide the strongest evidence to date that statin drugs may also help protect people from Alzheimer's disease. An earlier,...

Prefiguring Alzheimer's disease

Mild memory loss is often an indicator of Alzheimer's disease and is connected to the same brain pathology. There has been a lot of controversy over the implications of mild cognitive decline the loss of memory and certain other aspects of mental function,// like problem solving and planning.Some people think it is a normal part of aging, others that it is an early sign of Alzheimer's dementia, w...

Blood Pressure An Early Warning Sign Of Alzheimer’s Disease

An early warning sign of developing Alzheimer’s disease is a drop in blood pressure, say researchers, according to new research.// Results from previous research on the association between blood pressure and Alzheimer’s disease have been conflicting. In a recent study, researchers focused on blood pressure variations before and after a diagnosis of dementia. The research inclu...

Patients With Alzheimer’s Need To Be Checked For Visual Clarit

People suffering from Alzheimer’s disease can have loss of vision and hence their eyes must be //checked periodically to test their visual clarity. Alzheimer’s disease affects the brain cells and slowly destroys them. The main symptoms of the disease are decreasing memory, ability to reason, creative abilities and learning powers. Patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease are often d...

Link between Astrocytes and Alzheimer's Discovered

United States: Alzheimer’s was always profiled as a disease of the Neurons or Brain cells, until, New York researchers placed a finger on the participation// of Astrocytes in regulating blood flow in the brain- a direct link between Astrocytes and Alzheimer’s. According to Neuroscientist, Dr. Maiken Nedergaard, of the University of Rochester Medical Center, this path-breaking research s...

Alzheimer's Disease Progresses Rapidly In Highly Educated

A recent study has now found that educated people could face increased risk from Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common cause of dementia in old people. // Although Alzheimer's tends to be associated with a later age of onset among the educated, it progresses more rapidly. In other words, in highly educated people, a rapid decline is noted following onset of Alzheimer's manifes...

Diet combined to Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at the Colulmbia University found that eating more calories and fats may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in some people. Previous research has shown that mice and rats on a restricted diet tend to live longer. //Researchers feel this is because of fewer destructive molecules formed during the breakdown of food and oxygen. These destructive molecules, known as free...

Oral memory indicates future Alzheimer's patients

A word recall test is able to differentiate those who will get Alzheimer's disease from healthy older people. Alzheimer's disease is chiefly a condition of older people - so we can expect an increase in the number of cases as the population ages.// Treatments are now available and they seem to work best if they start early. This means early diagnosis is a priority. Researchers at the...

Shunt for Alzheimer's Disease

According to a new research it is observed that a surgically implanted shunt could help slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The research focuses on draining cerebrospinal fluid. This type of shunting was first used in 1970 for dementia, however the procedure was no longer used// when there seemed to be a high incidence of side effects related to the shunts. Recent studies of this type of...

New Cholesterol gene linked to Alzheimer's

The findings of a new study published in January's Archives of Neurology suggests that a new gene called CYP46 may play a role in some cases of Alzheimer's disease. A variation in the gene, which is involved in the production of an enzyme that helps break down excess cholesterol in the brain, may result in the buildup of cholesterol and a gummy protein// called beta amyloid, in the brain....

New imaging technique for tracking Alzheimer's

Researchers, for the first time, have shown, using a new imaging technique based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI), how Alzheimer's attacks the brain over time. Until now, MRI was used to show how Alzheimer's disease shrinks the hippocampus, a key area of the brain for memory and learning. And post-mortem studies revealed how the disease devastates even larger brain areas. This is the first time...

Likely reason which makes analgesics work against Alzheimer's

Pain killers like ibuprofen or naproxen have long been known to help people protect themselves against Alzheimer's disease. Now, researchers from the University of California have found a possible reason as to why this might be so. These scientists had previously developed a marker molecule called FDDNP that was used to detect the presence of plaque. Plaque is a protein deposit in the brain that...

A drug in vogue to deccelerate the course of Alzheimer's

Alzheimer’s disease continues to fuel research, as the incidence is likely to increase in the future. A new drug has been developed to slow the course of Alzheimer's disease. There is a special chemical called glutamate, which is one of the brain’s messenger and this chemical//is regulated by a drug called Memantine. Learning and memory are the fields, which are enabled by the chemical glutamate....

Lithium May help in Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's affects about 12 million people worldwide. Lithium may have a potential role in treating Alzheimer's. Lithium targets an enzyme called GSK-3 that facilitates the modification of both the proteins found in Alzheimer's patients. Identification of GSK-3 as a target could help in developing other drugs that disrupt the production of both proteins. Another advantage to lithium i...

Painkillers may protect against Alzheimer's disease

Common painkillers may lower the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, and the longer they are taken the greater the benefit, scientists said on Friday. They reviewed 15 studies that examined the effect of painkillers, known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and found people who take them are less likely to develop the illness, which is the leading cause of dementia in the elde...

Adding Fish to Diet May Reduce Risk of Alzheimer's

Older people who eat fish at least once a week may cut their risk of Alzheimer's by more than half, a study suggests. The study adds to the evidence that diet may affect a person's chances of developing the mind-robbing disease that affects 4 million Americans. Researchers found that people 65 and older who had fish once a week had a 60 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's than those who never...

Catching Alzheimer’s Disease Earl

A new test may be an important tool in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. A study reported in Clinical Electroencephalography highlights the use of an electrical brain test to detect the disease earlier, which may lead to improved treatment. The test, known as an electrophysiological test, detects impaired memory, which is known to precede the disease.// Researchers found 65 percent of...

Key enzyme protects against Alzheimer's

An enzyme that helps brain cells function normally also protects against Alzheimer's, scientists said Wednesday in a finding that could lead to better treatments for the illness. Brain cells need the enzyme called Pin1 to stay healthy but researchers in the United States, who identified it in 1995, have discovered it can also prevent tangles of protein in the brain which are a characteris...

Alzheimer’s Continues to Ris

It appears one of the most devastating diseases to hit older people will continue to rise in future years. Researchers from the Rush Institute //on Healthy Aging say it is crucial to have an accurate estimate of Alzheimer’s for the use of public health planning. Current estimates vary depending on the type of study and the source. This study used the United States Census as the scaffold to build...

Brain Scans Help Predict Alzheimer's Disease

Brain scans using positron emission tomography, or PET, markedly increase the ability of doctors to predict which patients will develop Alzheimer's disease as they grow older.//That's the main finding from the first large study to assess the use of PET scans in older people who complain of mild memory problems. Alzheimer's disease is a growing health problem, impacting about 4 million...

Midlife Brain Activity a Predictor Of Alzheimer’s Diseas

In a recent study researchers have created a model of the human brain and found the breakdown of myelin in midlife may be a precursor to Alzheimer’s.// Myelin is a fatty insulation that has a high cholesterol content, which allows for messages to be sent through the brain. However, as the brain develops in adulthood, cholesterol levels grow and promote the production of a toxic protein that...

New Drug Combination Found To Improve Memory in Alzheimer’s Patient

New research shows combining the drugs memantine and donepezil may improve // memory in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers studied more than 300 patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s. Participants were already taking the drug donepezil when the study began. Donepezil works by preventing the breakdown of acetylcholine, a chemical messenger in the brain that is important...

Delaying The Progression Of Alzheimer’s Disease

Researchers say for the first time, a drug seems to slightly delay the progress from memory impairment to Alzheimer’s disease.// Previous studies have shown that without treatment, about 10 percent to 15 percent of patients with mild cognitive impairment will progress to Alzheimer’s disease each year. However, not every patient with the condition will progress to Alzheimer’s. R...

Mentally Demanding Jobs Found To Reduce The Risk Of Alzheimer’

A new study finds those who have mentally demanding jobs may decrease their risk of Alzheimer’s disease.// For the study, researchers examined 122 people with Alzheimer’s disease and 235 healthy individuals. The participants were questioned about their occupational history from their 20s through their 50s. The information gathered included the type of job, length of job, and most import...